Bay Area briefs

COST TO RENAME SFO MAY BE LESS THAN EXPECTED: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Renaming San Francisco International Airport after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk may not cost as much as airport officials had estimated.

That's according to a new report from the city's Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle the report says replacing highway signs to reflect the new name would cost $720,000, far below the airport's $3.2 million projection.

If only the signature name sign on the International Terminal is changed, the report says the project could be completed for as little as $355,000.

Airport spokesman Doug Yakel told The Associated Press on Thursday the airport's figure was just an estimate, and officials were attempting to capture all the potential costs of a name change.

Legislation to rename the airport is set to appear before a committee of the city's Board of Supervisors on April 4.

TEACHER ACCUSED OF DOPING KIDS' DRINKS IS RELEASED: MORGAN HILL (AP) — A teacher at a Northern California preschool accused of putting sleeping pills into toddlers' sippy cups has been released from custody after being charged with child endangerment.

KGO-TV reports that 59-year-old Debbie Gratz is scheduled to appear in court again later this month.

She was arrested Friday after a colleague at the Morgan Hill Kiddie Academy saw her put an unknown substance into the children's cups.

School officials notified police on Monday, who said Gratz acknowledged putting the over-the-counter sleeping aid "Sominex" into the kids' drinks.

None of the children drank from the cups the day the incident was reported.

BIKE-SHARING BEING ROLLED OUT IN SF BAY AREA: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Commuters in the San Francisco Bay area will soon have another option: a regional bike-sharing system.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District on Thursday said it signed a contract with Alta Bicycle Share to build a $7 million pilot program linking San Francisco to San Jose, with bike kiosks also in Redwood City and Palo Alto.

Once built, people can buy passes that provide access to 700 bikes at 70 kiosks near bus and train stations. The bikes can be returned to any of the other kiosks.

Pricing is still undetermined, but a similar plan in Washington DC charges $75 for an annual pass, with options for shorter, cheaper durations.

POLICE: CALIF TEACHER HAD SEX WITH STUDENTS: ALBANY (AP) — Police say a California teacher who committed suicide had sex with two students and also took voyeuristic videos of adults and kids.

The Contra Costa Times reports (http://bit.ly/WJuurC) Thursday that police discovered 28-year-old James Izumizaki had a sexual relationship with students over a six-month span last year. Izumizaki was arrested in late September and days later he killed himself by hanging himself with a necktie in his car.

Izumizaki was a former teacher and coach at Albany Middle School. The police investigation found that some of the alleged crimes took place at the school. Police said they also found Izumizaki had child pornography unrelated to the abuse investigation.

Authorities said Izumizaki left two suicide letters saying he was sorry and had been depressed.